Police, DEA seize 21 lbs. heroin, $100K in cash

PLEASANT RIDGE, Ohio (WKRC) - Cincinnati Police, DEA agents and Ohio state troopers seized 21 pounds of heroin and more than $100,000 in cash Tuesday in a drug investigation that was sparked by complaints over a single drug deal in Bond Hill.

Anthony Penny was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon outside of an apartment building on Lawndale Ave. where police said he kept his drugs. Officers, federal agents and state troopers broke down the door of the apartment while executing a search warrant.

"This case was kind of unique yesterday where we didn't expect that we were going to get what we found out of that search warrant," said Tim Reagan, Resident Agent-in-Charge of the Cincinnati office of the DEA.

DEA agents also found $100,000 in cash. Reagan said the heroin-fentanyl mix had a street value of more than $1 million.

"There's a whole lot of people that are going to be sick. And there's a whole lot of people out of a lot of money right now," Reagan said.

Police describe Penny as a major distributor of heroin in the Cincinnati area. Officers went to Penny's house in Colerain Twp. Tuesday but he ran away to College Hill where he took a cab to the apartment building in Pleasant Ridge. Officers said that apartment building was one of Penny's stash houses.

"I was completely surprised," said Melissa McCullough, the owner of the apartment building.

McCullough said she leased the apartment to a young woman in August. But she said the woman only moved in a little bit of furniture. McCullough said she was told Penny mixed the drugs at the apartment.

"I have tenants that saw him in the building one time and he was carrying a huge box of cleaning supplies and paper towels. But nobody said anything to me and they didn't really think anything of it," said McCullough.

The months-long investigation came together Tuesday afternoon. Police said Penny assaulted a DEA agent and asked them to kill him while they took him into custody.

"I've never seen anything like it," Reagan said as he described how Penny spit on and bit officers. I've never seen anyone fight like Mr. Penny did with law enforcement at the time of the arrest. It took seven agents and officers from District 4 to subdue him. And he fought for hours."

Two other people were taken into custody Tuesday along with Penny. The investigation continues and more arrests are expected.

"We're going to take people on federal charges, on state charges, we're going to do everything we can to prevent this poison from being in our communities," said Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac.

DEA agents listened in on Penny's phone calls according to court records.